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4-5 November 2013

IB English: Paper 1 (exam notes)


Criteria A: Understanding and appreciation

How well does the student's interpretation reveal understanding of the thought and feeling of the passage? How well are ideas supported by reference to the passage? There is excellent understanding of the passage, demonstrated by persuasive interpretation supported by effective references to the passage.

Criterion B: Appreciation of the writer's choices

To what extent does the analysis show appreciation of how the writer's choices of language, structure, technique and style shape meaning? There is excellent analysis and appreciation of the ways in which language, structure, technique and style shape meaning.

Criterion C: Organization and development

How well organized, coherent and developed is the presentation of ideas? 5 Ideas are persuasively organized, with excellent structure, coherence and development. Criterion D: Language

How clear, varied and accurate is the language? How appropriate is the choice of register, style and terminology? ("Register" refers, in this context, to the student's use of elements such as vocabulary, tone, sentence structure and terminology appropriate to the commentary.) Language is very clear, effective, carefully chosen and precise, with a high degree of 5 accuracy in grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction; register and style are effective and appropriate to the commentary.

4-5 November 2013

Exam Technique:
1. Spend absolute minimum amount of time choosing between the prose and the poem. 2. When chosen, go through text and highlight using see/feel/hear technique and annotate all literary techniques 3. Choose the themes (approx. three) that you will explore in the commentary. 4. Plan out commentary on blank piece of paper to show structure 5. Begin writing 6. Once finished, (if you have time) proofread commentary

Point state the point youre proving Evidence Give evidence through integrating short quotes Technique state the literary technique Elaboration develop your point further, state the reason for the literary feature Response describe the effect of the literary feature and the intended emotional response
Examiners Report:
Understanding: Close reading is the key skill here and examiners frequently stress that you should read the text and then come to an interpretation based on your reading rather than hitting on an initial idea and then forcing the rest of the text to fit in with that interpretation. In addition, you must remember to: cover the whole text dont focus on only the bits that you are confident with: write about the other bits too look for the ideas first and then find the features that convey them consider who is the speaker, who is the audience, what is the overall effect or purpose? Interpretation: remain open to possible meanings + analyse ambiguity avoid paraphrasing the text or telling the examiner what happens avoid forcing your text to have a message or theme if it doesnt have one the text is not meant to be a springboard to personal or philosophical reflection: if its a poem about a field in autumn, write about a field in autumn avoid referring to other texts make your response personal but this doesnt mean link it your life: often personal engagement will come across in your tone of engagement and perhaps when you pick out what is most effective or powerful in the text Literary Features: remember to state a wide range avoid hunting for your favourite literary feature if it isnt there or isnt important then forget it avoid focussing so much on features that the overall meaning of the text is lost focus on text level features such as character, character development, structure, narrative perspective, mood and tone avoid saying that rhyme or enjambment makes the text flow or that imagery enables the reader to see more clearly what the author is talking about or that this engages the readers interest these statements are too general to really be of analytical interest

4-5 November 2013 avoid claiming too much for any given literary feature there is only so much a comma can do avoid talking about how readers will respond, it is better to talk about the mood created

Presentation: ALWAYS link paragraphs! keep your quotations short pick out the key two or three words that are really have the effect compose a clear introduction establishing what the text is about - dont list literary techniques here if you need a conclusion, avoid using it conclusion to just repeat the points you have already made Language: write neatly correctly distinguish between tone / tone of voice (the attitude of the speaker to his subject), mood (the emotional feeling evoked by a piece) and pace (the speed at which the text progresses) if it is unclear, choose a gender for the narrator and stick with that throughout so you dont keep writing he/she

Literary devices:
Accent: refers to the stressed portion of a word. An accent is used to place emphasis on a word. Note: stress and accent can be used interchangeably. Allegory: A description that has a second, usually moral meaning. Alliteration: is the repetition of initial (at the beginning) CONSONANT sounds (if it's a vowel repetition, you would call it assonance. Assonance includes any repetition of a vowel sound in any part of the word. It usually occurs in the middle of words). Allusion: refers to an event from an external content. It is understandable only to those with prior knowledge of the reference in question (as the writer assumes the reader has). Anaphora: Rhetoric, repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive verses, clauses, or sentences. Apostrophe: Something that addresses an object or person or idea who is not present as though he/she/it could reply. Antithesis: The juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas to create a feeling of balance (e.g Too black for heaven, and yet too white for hell) Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds may also add to euphony. Aubade: Poetry referring to either the dawn, a love song or about parting lovers. Ballad: A form of poetry in a specific meter meant to be sung. There is always a repeating refrain and it is always narrative in form. See below for more information.

4-5 November 2013 Blank verse: Iambic Pentameter that doesn't rhyme. (Much of Shakespeare's plays for example were written in blank verse.) Caesura: A cut or break in a line, could be a comma or a semicolon. Cacophony: Harsh sounding and generally unpleasant. Consonance: The repetition of consonant sounds NOT in the beginning of a word (which would be alliteration). Enforces relation. Continuous Form: Lines follow each other without any type of structural organization except by blocks of meaning. Didactic Poetry: Poetry with a directly morally teaching purpose. Euphony: Pleasant sounding. Extended Figure: An apostrophe, simile, metaphor, etc. which is developed throughout a poem. Imagery: Language which appeals to each of the five senses. Visual imagery: Sight. The most frequent type. Aural or auditory imagery: Sound. Olfactory imagery: Smell. Gustatory imagery: Taste. Tactile imagery: Touch, tangibility. Organic imagery: Human sensations, hunger for example. Irony: Dramatic or otherwise, conveying an aspect that is intrinsically unexpected or selfcontradictory. Lexical choices: particular words are given significance/prominence Metaphor: A comparison between two unlike things without using the words "like" or "as". Onomatopoeia: Words which are written to mimic a sound. (SHAZAM! SPLAT! PLOP!) Paradox: A statement which appears to contradict itself but makes sense (usually in an abstract sense). Personification: Animals and inanitimate objects are given human characteristics. Phonetic Intensive: A word whose sound emphasizes its meaning. Prose: Language which is not in meter. Refrain: A repeated line, phrase, sentence, etc. which appears throughout a poem. Rhetorical Poetry: Poetry written in superfluous language with the intention of being overdramatic.

4-5 November 2013 Scansion: The process of measuring verse. Simile: The comparison of two subjects using "like" or "as" or something similar Syntax: Used to highlight meaning, create ambiguity or interact with poetic verse form Tone: The writer's attitude toward the subject.

Extended Vocabulary:
Conceit: The comparison of two dissimilar things. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" Dramatic monologue: Narrator speaks to himself. The speaker is not the author. Epiphany: A realization or comprehension of the essence of something. Feminine Rhyme: Two syllable (Disyllabic) rhyme consisting of stressed syllable followed by unstressed Incantation: Use of words to create an archaic effect. (Opening scene of Macbeth and the Weird Sisters) Incremental repetition: Repetition of succeeding stanzas with small substitutions of changes. Masculine rhyme: Monosyllabic rhymes. Metonymy: Substitutes the name of one thing with something closely associated with it. Synecdoche: Substitutes a part of one thing to represent the whole, or vice versa. Pathetic fallacy: A reflection of the action/events through nature/weather. (A thunderstorm during the creation of Frankenstein's monster sequence) Persona: The character created by the narrator. Synaesthesia: A blending of sensations. Trope: A way of extending the meanings of words beyond the literal.

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